1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in methods and apparatus for withdrawing milk from lactating mammary glands and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for selectively and continuously warming to a predetermined temperature the mammary gland tissue while suction is applied to extract milk therefrom, and the like.
2. Background Prior Art
Pressures, both economic and social, place the mother of a newborn infant in a very difficult situation. For example, the overwhelming body of medical opinion is of the view that milk, drawn from the breasts of a properly nourished mother, is the best possible food for her newborn child. The conflicting need for the mother to return to work as swiftly as possible and a reluctance to nurse an infant in public places, however, are major impediments to the preferred natural feeding regimen.
Though the years, breast pumps have been developed to enable the lactating mother to withdraw milk from her breasts and store it to feed the infant at a later time when suckling otherwise might be awkward, inconvenient or impossible.
There are, of course, further situations in which breast pumps are helpful. Illustratively, some infants do not suckle very well and require the assistance of an artificial nipple and bottle combination in order to draw adequate nourishment. In this circumstance, withdrawing the mother""s milk through a breast pump and transferring that milk to a nursing bottle for administration to the child may offer an acceptable method for feeding mother""s milk to the child.
Breast pumps, moreover, are not limited in their application to human beings. Among the industrialized nations, milking machines are, perhaps, the most common way in which milk is extracted from cattle for commercial purposes. Although these machines are a more efficient way to produce milk, studies have shown that manual extraction of milk by milk maids actually results in appreciably greater milk production from the animals. Toward this end of increased milk production, various approaches have been tried with occasional success, e.g., playing soothing music in the barn during milking.
None of these breast pump developments have been entirely satisfactory. For instance, there is a continuing need for an improved apparatus that is capable of increasing animal milk production. Human nursing needs, moreover, appear to be considerably more complicated. In this respect, the suction apparatus for some breast pumps are applied only to the nipple and offer no support to the balance of the breast. A disadvantage to this device is the requirement for the nursing mother to use both hands in order to extract the milkxe2x80x94one hand to support the breast and the other hand to manipulate the pump. Further in this regard, if the nursing breast is not properly supported the subsequent milk withdrawal can be uncomfortable or, possibly, even painful.
As a general matter, it has been found that milk extraction is eased and made less uncomfortable if the mammary gland tissue is warmed immediately before and during the course of the extraction procedure.
Earlier breast pumps relied on pre-heated compresses that lost their heat as the milk was withdrawn. These devices thus were quite inefficient because they were incapable of maintaining a predetermined temperature during the extraction process.
Consequently, there is a need for an improved breast pump that can reduce the discomfort and inconvenience that heretofore has characterized application of these devices.
These and other limitations that have characterized the prior art are overcome, to a large extent, through the practice of the invention. Illustratively, a breast cup is provided to support not less than one half of the exposed surface of a lactating breast. The cup has a soft innermost portion that bears directly against the surface of the mammary gland. This innermost portion encapsulates a heat transmitting gel that conforms to the shape of he individual breast.
A middle portion of the cup forms a void space that generally matches the area of the innermost portion. This void space within the middle portion accommodates a warmed, working fluid that transfers its warmth through the gel to the lactating mammary gland in order to promote and make more comfortable the extraction of milk from the breast.
A firm, outermost portion of the cup not only houses the middle and innermost cup portions but also provides physical support for the breast and the suction and heating connections. In this respect, a heating tube passes through the outermost portion in order to establish working fluid communication with the void space within the middle cup portion.
A suction device protrudes through the cup structure at a place that approximates the location of the nipple on the mammary gland. The suction device has an inner annulus that approximates the size and shape of a typical nipple. The suction device also has a centrally disposed conduit that establishes fluid communication between the nipple and a xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d coupling inlet. One of the two remaining passageways in the xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d, coupling is a discharge outlet that communicates with a reservoir for collecting the milk sucked from the breast. The other xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d coupling passageway is a vacuum port that communicates with the suction pump to apply the necessary degree of vacuum to the nipple for milk withdrawal. A suction tube couples the conduit in the suction device to a selectively energizable suction pump through the other xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d, coupling passageway.
The heating tube extends from the outermost portion of the cup to a thermostatically controlled heating element that maintains the temperature of the innermost portion of the cup that is applied to the breast surface at a predetermined and preferable temperature in the range of 105xc2x0 F. to 110xc2x0 F. The heating element also is activatable separately from the suction pump to enable the breast tissue to be warmed selectively before, during and after milk withdrawal, according to the needs and comfort characteristics of the lactating individual.
These and other features of the invention will become apparent through a study of the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention. The scope of the invention, however, is limited only through the claims appended hereto.